1. Technical Field
This invention relates generally to static gaskets of the type used to establish a gas/fluid-tight seal between two members to be clamped together, and more particularly to multilayer static gaskets, such as a cylinder head gasket.
2. Related Art
In establishing a gas/fluid-tight seal between two members to be clamped together, such as a cylinder head and engine block, it is common to use a static cylinder head gasket having multiple layers. Generally, at least one of the layers of the multilayer gasket, sometimes referred to as a functional layer, has a seal bead to facilitate establishing a fluid tight seal. Another of the layers, sometimes referred to as a distance layer, is configured to abut the functional layer in an effort to establish the fluid tight seal by compressing the seal bead of the functional layer. Unfortunately, while fastening the cylinder head to the engine block, damage can occur to the seal bead by over-compressing the seal bead. If the seal bead is over-compressed and substantially flattened, in addition to losing its ability to exert a high compression sealing pressure, fatigue cracks can form in the area of the seal bead, such as during initial clamping or while in use. If formed, fatigue cracks ultimately reduce the ability of the static gasket to establish an air and/or fluid-tight seal, thereby diminishing the life and performance of the engine.